Birchbox: Paradise Found… or Lost? June 2016

Next arrival of the beauty boxes is the June Birchbox, which is a funny one for me. Not a box I’m happy with at all, especially since I received a duplicate product (more on that in a moment).

I love the box its self, the cardboard one, as it’s a drawer this time which is a nifty idea. I really hope it’s something they do again but the contents really left a lot to be desired this month for me.

What’s In The Box?

Percy & Reed, Reassuringly Firm Session Hold Hairspray, 50ml sample
This gets a lot of really great reviews from Birchboxers over on the website so I’ll definitely be using this next time I curl or style my hair. I’m planning on getting my hair the shop soon so I’ll be able to style it more often. Nice to see such a traditional beauty product in the box.

Jelly Pong Pong, Paradise Pigments in ‘Fig Jam’, Full size RRP £17.95My favourite item in this month’s box by far – and the only make-up product too. It’s a convertible lip and cheek colour which is a product type I’m not often a fan of it has to be said. When done right though they are great for when you want a perfect match or want to keep a travel make-up bag small.When used as a cheek colour I noticed that it didn’t blend as well on bare skin as it did over foundation. On the lips,
at first it feels a little like a balm before starting to act more like a stain. The colour lasts very well and even survives eating and drinking.
I got the shade ‘Fig Jam’ which is a bright yet surprisingly wearable blue pink tone.

Paula’s Choice, Clear Ultra-Light Mattifying Fluid, 15ml sample
I have no idea what Birchbox were thinking when they sent this to me as my profile with them tells them I have dry skin – I have keratosis pilaris and this seems to affect my skin shedding rate on my face too. I’ve been wanting to try one of Paula’s products from them for a while, it’s typical that when I finally get one it’s not actually suitable for my skin type isn’t it?

Whish, Coconut Milk CC Body Cream, 22ml sample
This is the duplicate I mentioned earlier. I first tried this product from them many moons ago before I started this blog! It’s been sat in the drawer as I have to say, while this product smells amazing as Whish products always seem to it’s so full of glitter as to be unusable on anything like a regular basis. It doesn’t seem to have any pigment or anything to correct or bronze the skin just a shed load of very fine gold glitter. I put a bit on my shoulders and arms when I’m going out in the evening but not too much as you can all too easily look like a discoball. So yes, now I have two of these and Birchbox customer services don’t believe me and think I’m mixing it up with the Almond body cream from the January box… I was quite insulted and felt like I wasn’t taken seriously.

Yes To, Blueberries Facial Wipes, 10 Wipes sample
Wipes. Seriously Birchbox? And to make it even worse (for me personally at least) these smell not of blueberry as you might expect but of lemon, a fragrance I can’t stand.
When it comes to skincare, wipes are really not the best option. Most people don’t use them properly – you should still wash your skin after using one for example which for many people would defeat the point. They would be more accurately called make-up remover wipes than cleaning wipes really. When you just go straight in an quickly rub with the wipe you can actually smear the make-up deeper into your pores. Another problem with wipes is that many contain high levels of ‘bad’ alcohols which can strip the skin and lead to imbalances, dryness and even pre-mature aging. Wipes do have their uses but they are not the quick fix cleanse which is how they are most often marketed to us. Wipes are great for correcting make-up mistakes during application or cleaning your hands between products, removing eye shadow fallout from the cheeks before applying foundation, getting that perfectly straight line etc. Look for an alcohol free brand if you really want to incorporate a wipe for one reason or another including for use correcting make-up.

So over all I’m really not impressed with Birchbox this month. A duplicate product, a completely unsuitable product, a product that is mis-sold and a customer services rep who essentially told me I was imagining things. I certainly did not find paradise in my box this month. Did you?

I'm Kath; a qualified beauty therapist and make-up artist. I'm currently studying media make-up and special effects to add some more strings to my bow. I'm a "make-up geek" as my friends say and am also a bit obsessed with nail polish too! I use this site to share my love of make-up and beauty and skin care education.
I'm also a bendy-EDSer and a wheelchair user.
Portfolio website coming soon!
bendybeauty.com